This paper quantifies the magnitude and nature of migration flows from the Caribbean and
estimates their costs and benefits. The Caribbean countries have lost 10–40 percent of their labor
force due to emigration to OECD member countries. The migration rates are particularly striking
for the high-skilled labor force. Many countries have lost more than 70 percent of their labor force
with more than 12 years of completed schooling—among the highest emigration rates in the world.
The region is also the world’s largest recipient of remittances as a percent of GDP. Remittances
constituted about 13 percent of the region’s GDP in 2002. Simple welfare calculations (under very
conservative assumptions of elasticities) suggest that the losses due to high-skill migration (ceteris
paribus) outweigh the official remittances to the Caribbean region.